Enough GOP Votes to End Shutdown?

(The Root) -- It appears as if the ranks of GOP opposition in Congress are cracking. Over the last 24 hours, a few Republicans have stepped up, and now the House has just over the magic number of Republican votes it needs to pass a clean government-spending bill and end the government shutdown -- that is, if all the Democrats stick together and if House Speaker John Boehner puts the bill to the floor.

As of Wednesday, the number of Republicans who will vote to pass a continuing resolution -- no demands attached -- has reached 18. These Republicans hail from states ranging from ever-blue New York to red state Idaho, and all have apparently decided that the shutdown deadlock has gone far enough.

"At this point, I believe it's time for the House to vote for a clean, short-term funding bill to bring the Senate to the table and negotiate a responsible compromise," Pennsylvania's Rep. Pat Meehan said, according to a press release on the first full day of the shutdown.

"Enough is enough. Put a clean [continuing resolution] on the floor and let's get on with the business we were sent to do," New Jersey's Rep. Jon Runyan said, according to the Burlington County Times, also on Tuesday.

Rep. Bill Young of Florida said, "The politics should be over. It's time to legislate," according to a tweet from Tampa Bay Times reporter Alex Leary.